Archive/File: imt/nca/nca-02/nca-02-16-responsibility-01-03
Last-Modified: 1996/10/23
B. WAR CRIMES.
(1) Forced Labor, Deportation, and Enslavement of Residents
of Occupied Territories.
The slave labor program of the Nazi conspirators had two
criminal purposes. The first was to satisfy the labor
requirements of the Nazi war machine by forcing residents of
occupied countries to work in Germany, often directly in the
German armament industry, and the second was to destroy or
weaken the peoples of the occupied territories. Millions of
foreign workers were taken to Germany, for the most part
under pressure and generally by physical force. These
workers were forced to labor under conditions of
undescribable brutality and degradation, and
[Page 431]
often they were used in factories and industries devoted
exclusively to the production of munitions of war. (See
Chapter X The Slave Labor Program.)
Goering was at all times implicated in the slave labor
program. recruitment and allocation of man-power and
determination of working conditions were included in his
jurisdiction as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan, and
from its beginning a part of the Four-Year Plan Office was
devoted to such work. (1862-PS; 2827-PS.)
The defendant Goering was present at a meeting in Hitler's
study on 23 May 1939 at which Hitler, after declaring his
intention to attack Poland at the first suitable
opportunity, said:
"If fate brings us into conflict with the West, the
possession of extensive areas in the East will be
advantageous. *** The population of non-German areas will
perform no military service and will be available as a
source of labor." (L-79)
Soon after the fall of Poland, Goering as Plenipotentiary
for Four-Year Plan, began the enslavement of large numbers
of Poles. On 25 January 1940, the defendant Frank, then
Governor General of Poland, reported to Goering as follows:
"For the execution of the task of systematically
placing the economic strength of the
Generalgouvernement, within the framework of the Four-
Year Plan, in the service of the German defense
industry, I give the following
"1. In view of the present requirements of the Reich
for the defense industry, it is at present
fundamentally impossible to carry on a long-term
economic policy in the Generalgouvernement. Rather, it
is necessary so to steer the economy of the
Generalgouvernement that it will, in the shortest
possible time, accomplish results representing the
maximum that can be gotten out of the economic strength
of the Generalgouvernement for immediate strengthening
of our capacity for defense. ***
"2. (g) Supply and transportation of at least 1 million
male and female agricultural and industrial workers to
the Reich -- among them at least 7500 000 [sic]
agricultural workers of which at least 50% must be
women -- in order to guarantee agricultural production
in the Reich and as a replacement for industrial
workers lacking in the Reich. ***" (1375-PS)
That orders for this enormous number of workers originated
[Page 432]
with the defendant Goering is clear from the following
statement in Frank's Diary for 10 May 1940:
"Then the Governor General deals with the-problem of
the Compulsory Labor Service of the Poles. Upon the
demands from the Reich it has now been decreed that
compulsion may be exercised in view of the fact that
sufficient manpower was not voluntarily available for
service inside the German Reich. This compulsion means
the possibility of arrest of male and female Poles.
Because of these measures a certain disquietude had
developed which, according to individual reports, was
spreading very much, and which might produce
difficulties everywhere. General Fieldmarshal Goering
some time ago pointed out in his long speech the
necessity to deport into the Reich a million workers.
The supply so far was 160,000. However, great
difficulties had to be overcome. Therefore it would be
advisable to consult the district and town chiefs in
the execution of the compulsion, so that one could be
sure from the start that this action would be
reasonably successful. The arrest of young Poles when
leaving church service or the cinema would bring about
an increasing nervousness of the Poles. Generally
speaking, he had no objections at all if the rubbish,
capable of work yet often loitering about, would be
snatched from the streets. The best method for this,
however, would be the organization of a raid, and it
would be absolutely justifiable to stop a Pole in the
street and to question him what he was doing, where he
-was working, etc." (2233-A-PS)
Goering was also responsible for the harsh treatment given
these workers when they reached Germany. On 8 March 1940, as
Plenipotentiary of the Four-Year Plan and as Chairman of the
Cabinet Counsel for the Defense of the Reich, he issued a
directive to the Supreme Reich authorities, entitled:
"Treatment of male and female civilian workers of Polish
Nationality in the Reich." In this directive Goering
provided in part:
"The mass employment of male and female civilian
workers of Polish nationality in the Reich necessitates
a comprehensive ruling on treatment of these workers.
"The following orders are to be executed at once:
"4. The blameless conduct of the Poles is to be assured
by special-regulations. The legal and administrative
regulations, necessary for this, will be issued by the
Reichsfuehrer-SS and Chief of the German Police at the
Reich Ministry of the Interior.
[Page 433]
"6. Attention is drawn to the explanations enclosed as
appendix." (R-148)
Attached to this directive, and also dated 8 March 1940,
were a series of regulations issued by Himmler, as
Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police. These
regulations provided for stringent measures and
discrimination against Polish workers in the Reich. In a
covering Express Letter addressed to all State Police
district-offices and State Police offices, also dated 8
March 1940, Himmler made clear what was intended in order to
secure "blameless conduct". He stated:
"The steps to be taken to combat insubordination and
noncompliance with the duty to work, must be decided
according to the severity of the case and to the spirit
of resistance of the offender. It is of most importance
that they be taken immediately after the offense is
committed so that they have a decisive effect. In
accordance with my instructions in the appended
decrees, especially severe measures must be taken
during the first eight weeks, in order to bring home to
the workers of Polish nationality from the outset the
consequences of noncompliance with the orders issued.
***
"In general, in all cases where a warning, by the State
Police or a short imprisonment is not sufficient to
induce the worker to fulfill his duties, application is
to be made for his transfer to a labor training camp,
and an opinion given on what treatment he should
receive there. The treatment in the labor training
camps will have to be in accordance with the severity
of the offense. It is suitable, e. g., to make
obstinate shirkers work in the stone-quarries of the
Mauthausen camp. By a special decree, to the heads of
SS-Deathshead Units and concentration camps, I have
ordered that the treatment of these persons under
protective custody be undertaken in a concentration
camp.
"Extraordinarily serious cases have to be reported to
the Chief of the Security Police and the SD who, after
examination, make the decision on a special treatment
of the workers of Polish nationality in question." (R-
148)
On 29 January 1942 the Division for the Employment of labor
in the Four-Year Plan Office issued a circular, signed by
Dr. Mansfeld, the General Delegate for Labor Employment in
the Four-Year Plan Office, and addressed to various civilian
and military authorities in the occupied territories,
explaining the various means to be used to force workers to
go to Germany. The circular provides in part:
"Subject: Increased mobilization of man-power for the
Ger-
[Page 434]
man Reich from the occupied territories and
preparations for mobilization by
"On the one hand, the labor shortage which was rendered
more acute by the draft for the Wehrmacht, and on the
other hand, the increased scope of the armament problem
in the German Reich, render it necessary that manpower
for service in the Reich be recruited from the occupied
territories to a much greater extent than heretofore,
in order to relieve the shortage of labor. Therefore,
any and all methods must be adopted which make possible
the transportation, without exception and delay, for
employment in the German Reich, of manpower in the
occupied territories which is unemployed or which can
be released for use in Germany after most careful
screening.
"This mobilization shall first of all, as heretofore,
be carried out on a voluntary basis. For this reason,
the recruiting effort for employment in the German
Reich must be strengthened considerably. But if
satisfactory results are to be obtained, the German
authorities, who are functioning in the occupied
territories, must be able to exert any pressure
necessary to support the voluntary recruiting of labor
for employment in Germany. Accordingly, to the extent
that may be necessary, the regulations in force in the
occupied territories in regard to shift in employment
and withdrawal of support upon refusal to work, must be
tightened. Supplementary regulations concerning shift
in employment must above all insure that older
personnel who are freed must be exchanged for younger
personnel to make up for it, so that the latter may be
made available for the Reich. A far-reaching decrease
in the amount of relief granted by Public Welfare must
also be effected in order to induce laborers to accept
employment in the Reich. Unemployment relief must be
set so low that the amount in comparison with the
average wages in the Reich and the possibilities there
for sending remittances home may serve as an inducement
to accept employment in the Reich. When refusal to
accept work in the Reich is not justified, the
compensation must be reduced to an amount barely enough
for subsistence, or even be cancelled. In this
connection, partial withdrawal of ration cards and
assignment to particularly heavy obligatory labor may
be considered.
"However, all misgivings must give way before the
necessity of supplying the deficit in manpower caused
by excessive draft calls into the Armed Forces, in
order to avoid detri-
[Page 435]
ment to the armament industry. For this purpose the
forcible mobilization of workers from the occupied
territories cannot be disregarded, in case the
voluntary recruiting is unsuccessful. The mere
possibility of mobilization by force will, in many
cases, make recruiting easier.
"Therefore, I ask you immediately to take any measures
in your district which will promote the employment of
workers in the German Reich on a voluntary basis. I
herewith request you to prepare for publication
regulations applying to forced mobilization of laborers
from your territory for Germany, so that they may be
decreed at once, in case recruiting on a voluntary
basis will not have the desired result, that is relief
of the manpower shortage in the Reich. I request you to
inform me of the measures taken by you." (1183-PS)
On 21 March 1942, Hitler promulgated a decree appointing
Sauckel Plenipotentiary General for Man Power. This decree
provided in part:
"In order to secure the manpower requisite for the war
industries as a whole, and particularly for armaments,
it is necessary that the utilization of all available
manpower, including that of workers recruited
[erwerben] abroad and of prisoners of war should be
subject to a uniform control, directed in a manner
appropriate to the requirements of war industry, and
further that all still incompletely utilized manpower
in the Greater German Reich, including the
Protectorate, and in he General Government and in the
occupied territories should be mobilized.
"Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel will
carry out this task within the framework of the Four-
Year Plan, as plenipotentiary general, for the
employment of manpower. In that capacity he will be
directly responsible to the Commissioner for the Four-
Year Plan."
On 27 March 1942, Goering, as Plenipotentiary for the Four
Year Plan, issued a decree in pursuance of the Fuehrer's
decree of 21 March 1942. This decree provided:
"In pursuance of the Fuehrer's Decree of 21 March 1942
(RGBl I, 179), I decree as follows:
"1. My manpower sections (Geschaeftsgruppen
Arbeitseinsatz) are hereby abolished (circular letter
of 22 October 1936/ St M. Dev. 265). Their duties
(recruitment and allocation of manpower, regulations
for labor conditions (Arbeitsbedingungen) ) are taken
over by the Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz,
who is directly under me.
"2. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz will
be
[Page 436]
responsible for regulating the conditions of labor
(wage policy) employed in the Reich Territory, having
regard to the requirements of
"3. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz is
part of the Four-Year Plan. In cases where new
legislation is required, or existing laws required to
be modified, he will submit appropriate proposals to
me.
"4. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz will
have at his disposal for the performance of his task
the right delegated to me by the Fuehrer for issuing
instructions to the higher Reich authorities, their
branches and the Party offices, and their associated
organisms and also the Reich Protector, the General
Governor, the Commander-in-Chief, and heads of the
civil administrations. In the case of ordinances and
instructions of fundamental importance a report is to
be submitted to me in advance." (1666-PS)
Since Sauckel was an authority of the Four-Year Plan, it is
clear that Goering remains responsible for the war crimes
committed by Sauckel as Plenipotentiary-General for
Manpower. (See Chapter X on The Slave Labor Program.)
(2) Employment of Prisoners of War in War Industry. The Nazi
conspirators ordered prisoners of war to work under
dangerous conditions, and in the manufacturing and
transportation of arms or munitions, in violation of the
Laws of War and of Articles 31 and 32 of the Geneva
Convention of 27 July 1929 on Prisoners of War. (See Chapter
X on The Illegal Use of Prisoners of War.)
Goering had a part in these crimes. At a conference on 7
November 1941, the subject of which was the employment of
Russians, including Russian prisoners of war, it appears
from a memorandum signed by Koerner, State Secretary to the
defendant Goering as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan,
that Goering gave the following directives for use of
Russians as laborers: "I. The stronger labor reserves in the
zone of the interior are also decisive for the war.
"The Russian workers have proved their productive
capacity during the development of the huge Russian
industry. Therefore it must be made available to the
Reich from now on. Objections against this order of the
Fuehrer are of the secondary nature. The disadvantages
which can be created by the Arbeitseinsatz have to be
reduced to a minimum: the task especially of counter-
intelligence and security police.
"II. The Russian in the zone of operations.
[Page 437]
"He is to be employed particularly in building roads
and railroads, in clearing work, clearing of mines and
in building airports. The German construction
battalions have to be dissolved to a great extent
(Example: Air Forces!); the German skilled workers
belong to the war industry; it is not their task to
shovel and to break stones, the Russian is there for
that."
*******
"IV. The Russian in the Reich territory including the
Protectorate.
"The number of the employed depends on the requirement.
By determining the requirement, it is to be considered
that workers of other states who produce little and eat
much are to be shipped out of the Reich and that in the
future the German woman should come less into the
foreground in the labor process. Beside the Russian
prisoners of war, free Russian workers should also be
used.
"A. The Russian Prisoner of War.
"1. The selection has to take place already in the
collecting camps, beyond the Reich border. The
profession and physical condition are decisive. At the
same time screening as to nationality and according to
the requirements of the security police and counter-
intelligence must take place.
"2. The transportation has to be organized just as the
selection and not improvised. The prisoners are to be
forwarded rapidly. Their feeding should be orderly and
their guarding unconditionally secured.
"3. Officers are to be excluded from the work as much
as possible,
commissars as a matter of principle.
"4. The Russian belongs in first line to the following
work places (in order of priorities):
Railroad maintenance (including repair shops and
construction of vehicles).
War industry (tanks, artillery pieces, airplane
parts). Agriculture.
Building industry. Large scale workshops (shoe
shops!)
Special units for urgent, occasional and emergency
work.
*******
B. The Free Russian Worker Employment and treatment,
will not be handled in practice differently than for
Russian prisoners of war. In both cate-
[Page 438]
gories, particularly good production can be
acknowledged by a limited distribution of luxury items.
Sufficient, adequate nourishment is also the main thing
for the free workers." (1193-PS)
In a set of top secret notes on what was apparently the same
conference, the following appears:
"NOTES
On outlines layed down by the Reichsmarschall in the
meeting of 7 November 1941 in the Reich Ministry for
Air (RLM)
"SUBJECT: Employment of laborers in war industries.
"The Fuehrer's point of view as to employment of
prisoners of war in war industries has changed
basically. So far a total of 5 million prisoners of war
employed so far 2 million.
"Directives for employment:
"Frenchmen: Individual employment, transposition into
armament industry (Rue-wirtschaft).
"Serbs: Preferably agriculture.
"Poles: If feasible no individual employment
achievement of Russian armament industry surpasses the
German one. Assembly-line work, a great many mechanical
devices with relatively few skilled workers.
"Readiness of Russians in the operational area to work
is strong. In the Ukraine and other areas discharged
prisoners of war already work as free labor. In Krivoy
Rog, large numbers of workers are available due to the
destruction of the factories. ***
"Some points as to general Arbeitseinsatz
"Rather employ PW's than unsuitable foreign workers.
Seize Poles, Dutchmen, etc. if necessary as PW's and
employ them as such, if work through free contract
cannot be obtained. Strong action." (1206-PS)
In a secret letter from the Reichsminister of Labor to the
Presidents of the Regional Labor Exchange Offices, the
following appears:
''Upon personal order of the Reich Marshal, 100,000 men
are to be taken from among the French PW's not yet
employed in the armament industry, and are to be
assigned to the armament industry (airplane industry).
Gaps in manpower supply resulting therefrom will be
filled by Soviet PW's. The transfer of the above-named
French PW's is to be accomplished by 1 October." (3005-
PS)
(8) Looting and Destruction of Works of Art. The Nazi con-
[Page 439]
spirators planned and organized the cultural impoverishment
of very country in Europe: the plunder of works of art by
the Government General in occupied Poland and the activities
of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg are outstanding examples. (See
Chapter IV on the Plunder of Art
Goering was continuously connected with these activities. In
October 1939 he requested a Dr. Kajetan Muehlmann to
undertake immediately the "securing" of all Polish art
treasures. In an affidavit, Dr. Muehlmann states:
"I was the special deputy of the Governor General of
Poland, Hans Frank, for the safeguarding of art
treasures in the General Government, October 1939 to
September 1943.
"Goering, in his function as chairman of the Reich
Defense Council, had commissioned me with this duty.
"I confirm, that it was the official policy of the
Governor General, Hans Frank, to take into custody all
important art treasures, which belonged to Polish
public institutions, private u collections and the
Church. I confirm, that the art treasures, mentioned,
were actually confiscated, and it is clear to me, that
they would not have remained in Poland in case of a
German victory, but that they would have been used to
complement German artistic property." (3042-PS)
Indicative of the continued interest taken by Goering in
these operations, it appears from Dr. Muehlmann's report
that at one time 31 valuable sketches by the artist Albrecht
Durer were taken from a Polish collection and personally
handed to the defendant Goering, who took them to the
Fuehrer's headquarters. (1709-PS)
The part played by Goering in looting of art by the
Einsatzstab Rosenberg has been shown in Chapter XIV. On 5
November Goering issued an order under his own signature
directed the Chief of the Military Administration Paris, and
to the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, as follows:
"In conveying the measures taken until now, for the
securing of Jewish art property by the Chief of the
Military Administration Paris and the special service
staff Rosenberg (the Chief of the Supreme Command of
the Armed Forces 2 f 28.14. W.Z.Nr 3812/40 g), the art
objects brought to the Louvre will be disposed of in
the following way:
"1. Those art objects about which the Fuehrer has
reserved for himself the decision as to their use.
"2. Those art objects which serve to the completion of
the Reich Marshal's collection.
"3. Those art objects and library stocks the use of
which seem useful to the establishing of the higher
institutes of
[Page 440]
learning and which come within the jurisdiction of
Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
"4. Those art objects that are suited to be sent to
German museums, of all these art objects a systematic
inventory will be made by the special purpose staff
Rosenberg; they will then be packed and shipped to
Germany with the assistance of the Luftwaffe." (141-PS)
In view of the high priority afforded by the foregoing order
to the completion of Goering's own collection, it is not
surprising to find that he continued to aid the operations
of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg. Thus, on 1 May 1941, Goering
issued an order to all Party, State, and Wehrmacht Services,
under his own signature, requesting them
"*** to give all possible support and assistance to the
Chief of Staff of Reichsleiter Rosenberg's staffs. ***
The above-mentioned persons are requested to report to
us on their work, particularly on any difficulties that
might arise." (1117-PS)
By 30 May 1942, Goering was able to boast of the assistance
which he had rendered to the work of the Einsatzstab
Rosenberg. In a letter to Rosenberg, of that date, he
stated:
"*** On the other hand I also support personally the
work of your Einsatzstab wherever I can do so, and a
great part of the seized cultural goods can be
accounted for because I was able to assist the
Einsatzstab with my organization." (1015-I-PS)
(4) Germanization and Spoliation. With respect to Poland the
Nazi conspirators' plans for Germanization and spoliation
commenced with the incorporation of the four western
provinces of Poland into the German Reich. In the remaining
portions occupied by Germany they set up the Government
General. The Nazis planned to Germanize the so-called
incorporated territories ruthlessly by deporting Polish
intelligentsia, Jews, and dissident elements to the
Government General, for eventual elimination; by
confiscating Polish property, particularly farms; by sending
those so deprived of their property to Germany as laborers;
and by importing German settlers. It was specifically
planned to exploit the people and material resources of the
territory within the Government General by taking whatever
was needed to strengthen the Nazi war machine, thus
impoverishing this region and reducing it to a vassal state.
(See Chapter XIII on Germanization and Spoliation.)
Goering, together with Hitler, Lammers, Frick, and Hess,
[Page 441]
signed the decree purporting to incorporate certain parts of
Polish territory into the Reich. (Decree of the Fuehrer and
Reich Chancellor concerning the Organization and
Administration of the Eastern Territories, 8 October 1939,
1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2042.)
Purporting to act by virtue of section 8 of the foregoing
decree, Goering as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan,
signed an order concerning the introduction of the Four-Year
Plan in the Eastern Territories. (Order concerning the
Introduction of the Four-Year Plan in the Eastern
Territories, 30 October 1939,1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
p. 2125.)
Goering in a directive dated 19 October 1939 stated:
In the meeting of October 13th, I have given detailed
instructions for the economical administration of the
occupied territories. I will repeat them here in short: 1.
The task for the economic treatment of the various
administrative regions is different depending on whether a
country is involved which will be incorporated politically
into the German Reich or whether we deal with the Government
General, which, in all probability, will not be made a part
of Germany.
"In the first mentioned territories the reconstruction
and expansion of the economy, the safeguarding of all
their production facilities and supplies must be aimed
at, as well as a complete incorporation into the
Greater German economic system at the earliest possible
time. On the other hand there must be removed from the
territories of the Government General all raw
materials, scrap materials, machines, etc., which are
of use for the German war economy. Enterprises which
are not absolutely necessary for the meager maintenance
of the naked existence of the population must be
transferred to Germany, unless such transfer would
require an unreasonably long period of time and would
make it more practical to exploit those enterprises by
giving them German orders to be executed at their
present location." (EC-410)
Goering acted as chairman of a meeting on 12 February 1940
to discuss "questions concerning the East," attended also by
Himmler and Frank. From the minutes of this meeting it
appears:
"By way of introduction, the General Field Marshal
explained that the strengthening of the war potential
of the Reich must be the chief aim of all measures to
be taken in the East." (EC-305)
The hand of Goering may also be found in the remainder of
the Nazi plans for Poland. It was he, for example, who
signed, with Hitler and Keitel, the secret decree which
entrusted Himm-
[Page 442]
ler with the task of executing the Germanization program
(686-PS). Similarly, it was Goering who, by virtue of his
powers as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan, issued a
decree concerning confiscations in the incorporated eastern
territories. This decree applied to "property of citizens of
the former Polish State within the territory of the Greater
German Reich, including the incorporated Eastern
Territories", and provided in
"SECTION 1. (1) The property of citizens of the former
Polish State within the territory of the Greater German
Reich, including the incorporated Eastern territories,
shall be subject to sequestration, trustee
administration, and confiscation in accordance with the
following provisions.
"(2) Subsection I shall not apply to the property of
persons who, in accordance with Section 6 of the decree
of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor relating to the
organization and administration of the Eastern
Territories of 8 October 1935 (RGBI, I, p. 2042), have
acquired German nationality. The agency having
jurisdiction in accordance with Section 12 may allow
further exemptions.
*******
"SECTION 2. (2) Sequestration shall be ordered in
connection with the property of:
b. Persons who have fled or are not merely temporarily
absent.
"(2) Sequestration may be ordered:
a. If the property is required for the public welfare,
particularly in the interests of Reich defense or the
strengthening of
b. If the owners or other title holders immigrated into
the territory of the German Reich as it was then
delimited, after
*******
SECTION 9. (1) Sequestrated property may be confiscated
by the competent agency (Section 12) for the benefit of
the German Reich if the public welfare, particularly
the defense of the Reich, or the strengthening of
Germanism, so requires." (1665-PS) .
The spoliation of Soviet territory and resources and the
barbarous treatment inflicted on Soviet citizens were the
result of plans long made and carefully drawn up by the
Nazis before they launched their aggressive war on the
Soviet Union. The Nazis planned to destroy the industrial
potential of the northern regions occupied by their armies
and to administer the production
[Page 443]
of food in the south and southeast, which normally produced
a plus of food, in such a way that the population of the
northern region would inevitably be reduced to starvation-
because of diversion of such surplus food to the German
Reich. The Nazis also planned to incorporate Galicia and all
the Baltic countries into Germany and to convert the Crimea,
an area north of the Crimea, the Volga territory, and the
district around Baku into German colonies. Their plans were
to Germanize or destroy. (See Chapter XIII on Germanization
and Spoliation.)
By 29 April 1941, seven weeks prior to the invasion of the
Soviet Union, it appears that Hitler had entrusted Goering
with over-all direction of the economic administration in
the area operations and in the areas under political
administration. It her appears that Goering had set up an
economic staff and subsidiary authorities to carry out this
function. (1157-PS)
The form of organization thus created by Goering and the
duties of its various sections appear more clearly in a set
of directives the operation of the economy in the newly
occupied territories" issued by Goering, as Reich Marshal of
the Greater German Reich in July 1941. By the terms of these
directives, it is stated "The Orders of the Reich Marshal
cover all economic field, including nutrition and
agriculture. They are to be executed by the subordinate
economic offices." An "Economic Staff, East" was charged
with the execution of orders transmitted to it from higher
authority. One subdivision of this staff, entitled "Group
La", was charged with the following functions: "Nutrition
and Agriculture, the economy of all agricultural products,
provision of supplies for the Army, in cooperation with the
Army groups concerned." (EC-472; 1743-PS.) appears from the
foregoing documents, it was a subdivision the economic
organization set by Goering, the Economic Staff, East,
Agricultural Group, which rendered a top secret report on 23
May 1941, containing a set of policy directives for the
exploitation of Soviet agriculture. These directives
contemplated abandonment of all industry in the food deficit
regions, with certain exceptions, and the diversion of food
from the food surplus regions to German needs, even though
millions of people would inevitably die of starvation as a
result. (EC-126)
Minutes of a meeting at Hitler's Headquarters on 16 July
1941, kept by Bormann, disclose Hitler's announcement that
the Nazis never intended to leave the countries then being
occupied by their Armies. The Fuehrer further declared that
although the rest of the world was to be deceived on this
point, nevertheless, "this need not prevent us taking all
necessary measures -- shoot-
[Page 444]
ing, desettling, etc. --.and we shall take them," and he
discussed making the Crimea and other parts of Russia into
German colonies. Goering was present and participated in
this conference. (L-221)
As a final illustration, it appears from a memorandum dated
16 September 1941 that Goering presided over a meeting of
German military officials concerned with the "better
exploitation of the occupied territories for the German food
economy" and that in discussing this topic, Goering said:
"It is clear that a graduated scale of food allocations
is needed.
"First in line are the combat troops, then the
remainder of troops in enemy territory, and then those
troops stationed at home. The rates are adjusted
accordingly. The supply of the German non-military
population follows and only then comes the population
of the occupied
"In the occupied territories on principle only those
people are to be supplied with an adequate amount of
food who work for us. Even if one wanted to feed all
the other inhabitants, one could not do it in the newly
occupied eastern areas. It is, therefore, wrong to
funnel off food supplies for this purpose, if it is
done at the expense of the Army and necessitates
increased supplies from home." (EC-3)

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